Giro in Tuscany

A window on Florence

So I have had a busy couple of weeks in giro in first of all Tuscany and then onto Sicily. In Florence I did notice that there were not as many people as usual for this time of year, not sure if that is down to finances for people or if tourism is down in general.
Managed to catch up with a colleague in Florence and also a friend that I had not seen for four years. It was great to see her again and get all of her news and we have vowed to try and meet up next month when I am not working and we can have more time.
I went to one of my favourite haunts for lunch - Il Desco on Via della Terme. I adore this place, they do great local food and a menu del giorno at lunch time which is fantastic value. Despite the bad weather I still went up onto the top of Rinascente in Piazza della Repubblica for a coffee. The views are fab and for once it was really quiet, so I had my pick of tables.

We arrived in Siena on Santa Caterina and were treated to the procession which was on it's way to mass in the church of San Domenico. As well as the flag throwers and drummers there was also the Bishop and the Mayor, quite a spectacle!

I don't usually have a sweet tooth, but the cold and rain drove me into a café in Lucca that does lovely coffee and buccellato, it had to be done and cheered me up no end!

After scoffing that I had to have a walk round theold city  walls of Lucca to try and get rid of some of the calories! I could have done with several circuits of the walls and not just the one but time was running out and the group I knew were gathering to head onto our next destination. Time to move on.